We consider the computation of optimal alignments between sub-sequences of given motion clips based on dynamic programming. To avoid redundant computations in multiple alignment queries, we introduced the concept of a guideboard matrix. Using this data structure, the existence inquiry for an alignment is answered in O(1) time and the extraction of the alignment is done in O(n+m) time where n and m denote the numbers of frames in the considered motions.

From the author’s work as an educational psychologist in a Scottish local authority and her initial literature review, concerns were raised by her colleagues and local education authority about delaying school entry of children with additional support needs. This study aimed to: explore how the decision making process for delaying school entry operated; develop and trial a methodology to capture the children’s perspective and explore the experiences of the children and their families in nursery and during their first year of school. A qualitative case study approach was used to explore the decision making process for six children and their families and the experiences of five children and their families. Techniques from the mosaic methodology (Clark and Moss, 2001) were adapted to capture the children’s voices. The study revealed that participants held different models of school readiness, in line with other international research, and this influenced their decision to retain. Participants reported a range of positive and negative outcomes of delayed school entry and identified factors that had been supportive in managing the children’s transitions. Children’s perspectives were captured and often offered a unique insight into the children’s views. At the end of the children’s first year in primary school four parents were still happy with their decision to delay school entry but one parent regretted her decision. In conclusion it is suggested that a more interactionist (Meisels, 1998) approach to school readiness should be taken when supporting the transition from nursery to school. A moderated system should be developed to support the decision making process for delaying school entry, with an inbuilt process to follow up longer-term outcomes for the children and families concerned. The methodology developed for gathering children’s views offered a way for children with additional support needs to express their own views and take an active role at this important transition point. There is potential to develop this methodology further to ensure that children’s voices are heard in this first universal educational transition.

Generally, a design process involves multiple modeling and analysis interaction iterations accommodating changes and verifications. It is convenient to develop generative programs to automate some tedious and repetitive processes in order to minimize cycle times and the engineer’s routine efforts associated with various design stages. The proposed process model incorporates embedded engineering knowledge and generative Computer Aided Design (CAD) and Computer Aided Engineering (CAE) analysis for partial automation of product development. For improved efficiency and ease of operation, the process used a CAD/CAE integration approach with smart program development mechanism for automated modeling and analysis. A CAD/CAE integration method using a Common Data Model (CDM) containing all the required parametric information for both CAD modelling and CAE analysis is implemented. The CDM is used as a parametric data model repository and the supply source of input for those associative entities of CAD and CAE models and thus maintaining the associative dependencies among them. The pro-recorded journal file from the modeling and analysis software tool are used for rapid and easy program development of generative CAD and CAE. / Engineering Design

No description available.

In this thesis we investigate the accuracy of high-order Extended Finite Element Methods (XFEMs) for the solution of discontinuous problems, with a view to computing high-order solutions to a two-phase flow problem. We start by demonstrating optimal exponential rates of convergence for a spectral/hp element method applied to a smooth problem. We then consider an immersed method on a fixed background mesh that uses level sets to capture the location of a discontinuity and the XFEM to characterise this discontinuity on element interiors. We present an improvement to the modified XFEM of [Moes et. al., 2003] and then use it to solve both a Poisson problem and a linear elasticity problem with discontinuities modelled independently of the mesh. Very close to optimal rates of convergence are recovered for the Poisson problem with both straight and quadratically curved interfaces for approximations up to order p=4. These rates are better than those published in the literature for the XFEM with a curved weak discontinuity, and they are also the first optimally convergent results achieved using the modified XFEM for any problem with approximations of order p>1. Almost optimal rates of convergence are then also recovered for an elastic problem with a circular discontinuity for approximations up to order p=4.The use of the XFEM for time-dependent problems is investigated, and a novel level set update method that retains the signed distance property without need for reinitialisation is also presented. Finally we apply these methods to the time-dependent simulation of a two-phase flow problem. We validate the method against both an analytic dispersion relation for relaxation under small interface perturbations and an existing implementation for large interface perturbations. We then present a proof-of-concept implementation of a high-order immersed method for an oscillating tank flow problem and demonstrate the ability of our implementation to simulate problems with large amplitude interface deformations.

Using the resource-based view (RBV) of the firm, this research examines how organizations integrate organizational resources with Web technology to implement Web functionalities to support the four stages of the Customer Service Life Cycle (CSLC). This research examines how combinations of Web functionalities impact the relative importance of the stages of the CSLC in determining customer satisfaction. The relative important of the stages of the CSLC varied depending on the product being considered for purchase (textbook, personal computer, and pair of jeans) and the gender of the online customer. Results of six regressions using policy capturing indicate that, overall, customers consider Web functionality support for the pre-purchase stages of the CSLC to be most important, with the requirements stage or acquisition stage consistently being first in importance. Post-purchase support showed increased importance with the purchase of a personal computer and textbook, and with male shoppers. Significant differences were limited with the retirement stage being significantly different from all the other stages in five post hoc tests, and from just the acquisition stage in the jeans test. By considering the products sold online and gender of the targeted online customer, organizations can invest their resources to build Web functionalities that incorporate values, culture, and processes to increase customer satisfaction with the Web site and influence firm performance.

<p> An organization can adopt one of two implementation techniques to execute layoffs. Through involuntary layoffs, management can unilaterally select which employees to layoff. Alternatively, through voluntary layoffs, employees can self-select through volunteering for a layoff. A model from the turnover realm was adapted and applied to assess antecedents of the layoff decision for both implementation techniques. Antecedents included work related variables (job performance, salary, job satisfaction, stress, organizational commitment, severance packages) and non-work related variables (age, education, tenure, gender, family size).</p> <p> A policy-capturing approach compared voluntary versus involuntary layoffs. Management and employee dyads assessed employee profiles and judged the layoff decision for each profile. Given the exploratory nature of this research, subject matter experts (SMEs) assessed 388 profiles to validate the model. Semi-structured interviews with SMEs provided improvements adopted for the field study. The field study involved managers and employees from three companies evaluating 976 employee profiles to determine the likelihood for voluntary or involuntary layoffs. Logit regression analysis provided the significance, strength and direction of influence for each antecedent on the layoff decision.</p> <p> The results provide evidence that job performance, job satisfaction and organizational commitment have a negatively correlated relationship with both layoff implementation techniques. Slightly more than half (56.35%) of employees had the same stay or leave decision during voluntary versus involuntary layoffs. The residual (43.65%) represent mismatches that are a result of different influence and interpretation of the remaining layoff antecedents. This thesis provides evidence that voluntary and involuntary layoff implementation techniques result in a different mix of employees leaving the organization. From a policy perspective, recommendations on how to minimize mismatch are provided. From a theory perspective, a closer bridge between layoff and turnover research is proposed. This thesis also suggests that layoffs should be assessed based on the voluntary-involuntary divide in future research.</p> / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

The present study employed a novel approach to extend current knowledge of how ideal leader prototypes and self-concepts solely and dually influence leader categorization and effectiveness judgments. Cluster analysis and policy-capturing were employed to examine independent and dependent variables as patterns. Findings partially supported hypotheses and corroborated previous research. Leader categorization and effectiveness judgments were self-affirming across multiple managerial performance scenarios; implicit policies varied based on the pattern of traits exhibited within their self-concepts and ideal leader prototypes. On average, people who endorsed prototypical ideal leader prototypes and self-concepts were more stringent compared to individuals with less prototypical patterns. They categorized fewer managers as leaders, perceived them as less effective, and weighed Planning, Motivating, and Controlling performance behaviors more in their judgments. The study also showed ideal leader prototypes explained variance in implicit policies for leader categorization and effectiveness beyond the variance accounted for by self-concepts; however, the self-concept remained a significant predictor of implicit policies for leader effectiveness. This novel finding suggests the self-concept, like the ideal leader prototype, is relevant in weighting performance behaviors for effectiveness judgment. / Ph. D.

Considering the vital role that drawing plays in conceiving buildings and landscapes, the question of "knowledge" in relation to visual representations becomes a matter of importance. The conventional view of drawing considers it a passive and neutral means to communicate mental concepts in visual form. The present study, however, views drawing as an essential vehicle that both enlists our critical reasoning faculties, as well as engages our senses and imagination in an integrated way to generate new knowledge. As a means to acquire architectural/landscape knowledge, drawing becomes an essential vehicle for scholarship in the field. Depending on the circumstances, drawing can capture or cast (or both). When the drawing is a recipient of the external world, it captures or catches the qualities of an actual place. When the drawing is of a space that perhaps will exist, it can bring out or cast ideas, thoughts, or sensations to an external world and eventually to that envisioned space. After a discussion of the commonalities of drawing in architecture and landscape architecture, the present study concentrates on areas that distinguish landscape drawing from architectural drawing. In the end, the personal experiences of the author, in which the drawing served both as capturing and casting mechanism, is briefly depicted. / Master of Landscape Architecture

No / We use the method of policy capturing to address three open-ended questions regarding how people judge the fairness of events. First, do people differ in how they judge whether a situation is fair or unfair; second, are fairness judgments stable within-person; and, third, how much insight do people have into how they make fairness judgments? To investigate these questions, we used the method of policy capturing and a representative design that samples situations as well as participants. Forty-nine employees rated the global fairness of 56 performance appraisals sampled from their own organization (N = 2,744 situations), and regression methods were used to infer their judgment policy from their choices. We found that people differed greatly in how they judged fairness but used quite consistent policies across similar situations. Participants also provided self-reports of their judgment policies, and comparisons of these self-reports with actual policies revealed limited levels of self-insight.